|
Marshall Frasier, ag leader, dies at 81By Larry Dreiling Marshall Frasier, the first person to be president of both the Colorado Cattlemen's Association and the Colorado Livestock Association, died May 3 at the Valley View Villa Nursing Home in Fort Morgan, from complications related to cancer. He was 81. A lifelong member of state and national cattlemen's organizations, Frasier, a Woodrow, Colo., producer, served as CCA president in 1981 and CLA president in 2000. He was Region V vice president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Frasier served 10 years on the Colorado Beef Council and 10 years on the National Live Stock and Meat Board, where he was the first chairman of the retail meat committee. Frasier also served two years as Region V vice president of the National Cattlemen's Association's executive board from 1983 to 1985. In 2004, he was inducted into the Colorado Agriculture Hall of Fame. At the induction ceremony, Frasier was praised for working tirelessly to support Colorado's livestock industry. Known affectionately as the "quiet giant," Frasier was known as a man of few words and many accomplishments. Earlier in 2004, Frasier Farms Ranch, located in Washington and Lincoln counties, Colo., won an NCBA regional Environmental Stewardship Award. The ranch also earned an award from the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Besides cattle, threatened species such as golden eagles, burrowing owls, ferruginous hawks and mountain plovers along with prairie songbirds, swift foxes, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and even dung beetles have a home at the ranch. Creating a ranch environment as conducive for wildlife as it is for cattle and native grasses was a major reason the ranch earned the award. With his sons Joe, Mark and Chris, Marshall Frasier transformed their 1,800-head, 44,000-acre operation from traditional grazing to Holistic Range Management, adding more than 4,000 trees, 50 dams and 55 miles of pipeline connect to 65 water points across the ranch, and numerous water diversions have been emplaced to help with erosion control. Frasier was born Oct. 11, 1926, on the family farm in Wallace County, Kan. The youngest of six children, by age 8, Marshall was busy operating tractors and herding cattle. After graduating from Sharon Springs High School, he served in the U.S. Navy as a radar operator on the USS Elkhorn, an oil tanker bound for the China Sea. By the time Frasier returned from his military service in 1947, his father had purchased the Hashknife Ranch south of Last Chance, Colo. Over the next 60 years, Marshall rebuilt the ranch into a model yearling operation that now bears the family name. He also acquired a sand hills ranch north of Wray that he developed into an irrigated farm and later traded for River Bend Ranch, west of Limon. In a 2003 interview with this publication, Frasier said he had seen a lot since his father moved from western Kansas and bought the ranch, intending to break up the land and grow wheat. After a few disastrous years, his father put the land back to grass and raised cattle. It was a decision that proved to be the right one. By the way Frasier spoke then, the courage to change must have been an inherited trait. "Lots of people bellyache and complain that they can't make a go of their business," he said. "That's because they don't keep up with the times and change. You need to keep current and up-to-date. Otherwise, you won't make a go of it." According to CLA chief executive officer Bill Hammerich, Frasier took great pride in his community. "He held many leadership posts in the local Methodist Church and the Woodlin Lions Club. He served for 16 years on the Woodlin School Board and was past president of the Colorado Association of School Boards," Hammerich said. "While he never retired from the ranch, in his later years, Marshall spent time rebuilding antique wooden windmills. His proudest accomplishment was inspiring his three sons to join him in the cattle business." Marshall is survived by his wife, LaRue, of Woodrow; sons, Joe (Cindy) Frasier, Limon, Colo.; Mark Frasier, Fort Morgan, Colo; and Chris (Leanna) Frasier, Denver; brothers, Harold Frasier, Sharon Springs, Kan.; and Melvin Frasier, Boulder, Colo.; grandson Ryan (Lindsay) Frasier, Newton, Kan.; granddaughters, Kelsey Frasier, Manhattan, Kan.; Emily Frasier, Limon; and Katie Frasier, Denver. A sister, Helen Eicher; a brother, Donald Frasier; and his parents, Elmer and Mayme Frasier, preceded him in death. Funeral services were Friday, May 9, at the Howard United Methodist Church in Last Chance. Interment was at the Walk's Camp Methodist Cemetery, north of Limon. Friends who wish may make memorial gifts to the Woodlin Lions Club Scholarship Fund or to the Howard United Methodist Church in care of Heer Mortuary, 222 Cameron Street, Brush, CO 80723. Larry Dreiling can be reached by phone at 785-628-1117 or by e-mail at ldreiling@aol.com. 5/26/08 Date: 5/21/08
Copyright/Privacy
Copyright 1995-2009. High Plains Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Any republishing of these pages, including electronic reproduction of the editorial archives or classified advertising, is strictly prohibited. If you have questions or comments you can reach us at High Plains Journal 1500 E. Wyatt Earp Blvd., P.O. Box 760, Dodge City, KS 67801 or call 1-800-452-7171. Email: webmaster@hpj.com |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
